The FBI has released details of a man labeled a 'person of interest' in the wake of the Brown University shooting.
At around 4pm local time on Saturday (December 13), cops responded to calls of gunshots inside the Barus & Holley engineering building at the Rhode Island campus.
College students were sitting exams in the stadium hall when a gunman reportedly came through the doors and opened fire.
Tragically, at least two people have been confirmed to have died in the mass shooting, identified as 18-year-old Mukhammad Aziz Umurzokov, from Virginia, and 19-year-old Ella Cook, from Alabama. A further nine were also raced to hospital with 'critical but stable' injuries.
Advert
Initially, police took a man in his 30s into custody at a Providence hotel. The man has since been released and cleared as of Sunday (December 14) based on other evidence, Rhode Island's Attorney General Peter Neronha said in an update as per CNN.
Now, cops say they're still searching for the shooter with the manhunt now stretching into its third day.
New video footage has since been released of a potential suspect, which shows an individual wearing a mask and dark clothing walking through Providence at around 2pm that fateful day, just hours before the deadly attack.
The FBI said the suspect is 'approximately 5'8'' and has a 'stocky build.'
The images show his hat and a mask covered most of his face except for his eyes.
In some parts of the surveillance, caught on what appears to be doorbell and other CCTV cameras, the alleged suspect seems to gaze around and put his arms behind his back while strolling along on his own.
At one point, he also appears to tuck his hands into his pockets as he continues ambling through the vicinity of Hope Street between Manning and Benevolent streets.
The suspect also has a distinctive walk that cops hope someone might be able to identify.
Andrew McCabe, former deputy director of the FBI, explained to CNN: "He kind of walks the same way when he’s on the sidewalk or crossing the street, and he appears to favor his left leg just slightly, not so much that it would be indicative of any sort of permanent disability, but maybe the remnant of an old surgery or a knee injury or something like that.
“It’s those kind of details that I think could maybe trip somebody’s recollection that this is someone they know in their lives."
The FBI has also offered a $50,000 reward for people to come forward with information that might lead to an arrest and conviction.
Meanwhile, the university has canceled its exams and scores of students have already headed home for the holidays.
“It’s all hands on deck,” the Providence police chief, Col. Oscar L. Perez Jr., said to reporters on Monday evening.
“We’re at the 49th hour, and there’s no one that wants to put this individual in handcuffs more than us."
Brown University also said in a statement on X, formerly Twitter: "The Providence Police Department has asked that anyone from Brown who was in Barus & Holley on Friday or Saturday, Dec. 12-13, arrange for an interview. Even an incidental detail may be helpful in investigating."
Liv Bridge